The present invention relates to a flash-light with a tubular case of which one end accommodates an optical unit with a reflector of the parabolic type and a bulb placed substantially at the focus, wherein the reflector may be adjustable with respect to the bulb, as well as an assembly of batteries accommodated in the body of the case, behind the bulb.
There are numerous designs of flash-lights corresponding to the above definition. These flash-lights generally have the drawback that their operation is unpredictable in that they do not enable the situation to be known regarding the charge level of batteries which can fail suddenly. The same applies to the bulb which may be failing. The user is then obliged to carry out tests and first of all, if he thinks of it, to dismantle the optical unit in order to remove the bulb, possibly to check its condition if that is visible, to replace is and to carry out new tests then change the batteries. A user and above all a professional using a flash-light cannot always have with him the necessary replacement batteries, all the more so since a usual flash-light contains an assembly of several round batteries of an appropriate type. Such batteries are cumbersome when they are outside the flash-light case. They are also relatively heavy.
According to the document GB 2 207 744 a flash-light is known which is composed of two separate systems: a main system and a reserve system. Each system includes a bulb and one or more batteries. The user can switch over to the reserve system in the even of failure of the main system. The solution according to this document has a number of drawbacks such as the bulk and the weight. Moreover, since the two systems are strictly separated the aforementioned drawbacks are cumulative.
The aim of the present invention is to develop a flash-light of the type defined above which makes it possible at any moment to know its operating possibilities whilst offering automatic emergency operation in the event that this becomes necessary.
To this end the invention relates to a flash-light of the type defined above, characterised in that it comprises:
a control membrane,
one or more emergency batteries,
emergency lighting,
display means,
a managing electronic circuit comprising:
means for monitoring the level of the cells to display their charge level and to switch the battery or batteries to the emergency bulb if the main bulb is connected but the level of the cells is insufficient,
means for monitoring the bulb, the managing circuit displaying the condition of the bulb (in order/out of order) or a charge level of the cells when the flash-light is on,
means for monitoring the charge level of the battery or batteries in order to connect the battery or batteries to the cells and to recharge it or them if the level of the battery or batteries is insufficient, this supply being interrupted as soon as the level of the battery or batteries is above a threshold.
The user of the flash-light equipped with cells or rechargeable batteries can at any moment know the condition and the possibilities of his flash-light, that is to say the condition of the bulb (whether the latter is out of order or in operating order) and whether the charge level of the cells is sufficient for the envisaged operation. When the cells are replaced by rechargeable batteries the charge level of the batteries will be indicated under the same conditions.
Moreover, following use which goes beyond the normal possibilities of the cells the emergency or substitute lighting is immediately implemented in so far as the user had switched on the normal flash-light bulb. This substitute lighting is substituted at least partially for the normal lighting. It also makes it possible to carry out replacement of a bulb if the normal bulb is out of order. This lighting also permits the replacement of the cells if they are drained and the user has replacement cells. It is also possible for the user to utilise the emergency lighting at the same time as the normal lighting, this double use permitting xe2x80x9cambientxe2x80x9d lighting.
According to other advantageous characteristics of the invention:
the control membrane covers a contactless Hall effect or lamellar switch, that is to say a magnetically tripped contactor still known as an ILS,
the case above the tubular body, in the part accommodating the cells, an elongated projection which permanently accommodates the battery or batteries and the emergency bulb,
the projection which accommodates the battery or batteries has a transparent or translucent part behind which the emergency bulb is located,
the managing electronic circuit and the various display means as well as the control membrane of the switch are provided in a part of the case situated substantially behind the reflector and above the corresponding end of the cell compartment, and integrated in the external contour of the optical unit.